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DCCA: Tourism development and casino will lower number of food stamp clients
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Posted on Mar 30 2012
Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Melvin Faisao believes that once the ailing tourism industry picks up and people support the establishment of a casino industry on Saipan, the number of people lining up for food stamps will start to decrease.
This fiscal year, the program has over 10,000 beneficiaries on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, he said, a 4.6 percent increase over that of fiscal year 2011. He blames the increase on the implementation of work-hour cuts in government and austerity measures in private businesses.
Faisao said the food stamp program is allocated about $13.148 million a year, with $12.148 million going to benefits and $1 million for the program’s operation and personnel. Despite the increase in the number of food stamp clients, Faisao said the department did not reduce the subsidy provided to eligible clients.
When asked how casino and tourism developments will help mitigate the continuous increase in food stamp clients, Faisao pointed out the job opportunities these could provide to people. Creating additional and new revenues for the government, he added, would also result in the lifting of the work-hour cuts in government.
Also known as the Nutrition Assistance Program, the food stamp program was created to promote the general welfare of CNMI residents and maintain their well-being by raising the levels of nutrition among low-income, zero-income, and needy families and individuals. The size of a family’s benefit is based on income and certain expenses. The poverty level is higher for bigger families and lower for smaller families. The program is federally funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The administration earlier expressed its opposition to the inclusion of the CNMI in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which may increase the current food stamp benefits of $12 million to $24 million, due to the required local matching requirement.
Faisao said the national food stamp program will require the CNMI government to use a cost-reimbursement procedure and require strict adherence to cost-matching share.
